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Gender: Female Meaning of Betsy: "pledged to God" Origin of Betsy: Diminutive of Elizabeth

Betsy Origin and Meaning

The name Betsy is a girl's name of Hebrew origin meaning "pledged to God".

This Elizabeth nickname has a decidedly retro feel--think Betsy Ross and the Betsy Wetsy doll-- once seen as a perkier, younger-sounding alternative to Betty. But with Betty on the brink of a comeback, pigtailed Betsy could return as well.

Betsy's height of popularity was from the forties to the sixties, when she was likely to be the radio, film or TV teenaged daughter.

Betsy, spelled Betsey, was a Dickens favorite, appearing in both David Copperfield (in which Aunt Betsey had wanted David to be named after her had he been a girl) and The Pickwick Papers.

16 names similar to Betsy

These 16 names were selected by our users that were looking for other names like Betsy. If you didn't find an alternative name that you like better than Betsy, try our name generator. It allows you to go beyond the similarities of a name, which can provide a lot of inspiration!

Find other names based on Betsy using our baby name generator.

Lists containing Betsy

Betsy in Blog Posts

Popularity

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Famous People Named Betsy

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Elizabeth Griscom "Betsy" Ross, figure in the American Revolution
Elisabeth Dee "Betsy" DeVos, 11th U.S. Secretary of Education
Elizabeth Helen "Betsy" McCaughey, American politician, former lieutenant governor of New York
Betsy Ann Brandt, American actress
Betsy Blair (born Elizabeth Winifred Boger), American actress
Betsy Yoder, American reality TV personality ("Breaking Amish: LA")
Betsy Ruth, ring name of MaryKate Duignan Glidewell, American pro wrestler
Betsy Palmer (born Patricia Betsy Hrunek), American actress
Betsy Gordon Drake, French-American actress
Betsy Morgan, American Broadway actress
Elizabeth Marie "Betsy" Wolfe, American Broadway actress
Betsy Beutler, American actress

Pop Culture References for the name Betsy

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Betsy Warrington Ray, main character in the Betsy-Tacy series by Maud Hart Lovelace
Betsy, main character in the B is for Betsy series by Carolyn Haywood
Elizabeth "Betsy" Braddock aka Psylocke, Marvel comics character
Betsy Kelso, daughter of Michael Kelso on TV's "That 70's Show"
Betsy, character in the movie "Taxi Driver"
Betsy Hopper, character in movie "Betsy's Wedding"
Betsy Cramer, character on American soap "One Life to Live"
Betsy Stewart, character on American soap "As the World Turns"
Betsy Chernak Taylor, character on American soap "Love is a Many Splendored Thing"
Betsy aka Bet, character in "Oliver Twist" by Charles Dickens
Betsy Butterbur, character in film The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug
Betsy Bobbin, character in L. Frank Baum's Oz books

Nicknames & Variations for Betsy

Betts, Betsie, Betsey, Bets, Betsi

Comments

penelope_lynson Says:

2020-06-03T08:49:45

I love it! Especially as a nickname to Elisabeth.

GenEric Says:

2019-04-29T00:34:23

I'm glad I'm not the only one. Strange because I love Isabel (although it's quite different from its mother name) and Elisabeth (pronounced Eh-lees-ah-bet).

April Ludgate Says:

2018-11-23T15:34:22

I don't see any beauty in Elizabeth or Betsy.

paulapuddephatt Says:

2017-03-06T22:50:51

Adore Betsy, Lucy and Milly 💝

paulapuddephatt Says:

2017-03-06T22:49:19

Maybe because you - or/and your child - love Betsy. I agree that Elizabeth is beautiful, though - but also feel that Betsy is super cute.

paulapuddephatt Says:

2017-03-06T22:45:07

I love it, but highly recommend using Elizabeth, as the full name. It keeps your daughter's options open. Betsy does work on its own though, if you really aren't a fan of Elizabeth.

littlepenelope Says:

2016-05-26T17:59:58

My 2 year old daughter is Betsy, not short for anything. I feel it has the same vintage spunk as names like Lucy and Milly.

Essa Says:

2016-02-10T18:55:18

Loving Betsy at the minute. I'd love to name my future daughter after my grandma Elizabeth but, while I love many of the nicknames, I'm not too sure on the full name itself. Personally I think Betsy is very capable of standing on her own. I'm also playing with the idea of using an alternate Elizabeth name such as Elsbeth or Lilibet and then using Betsy as a nickname.

nellbelle Says:

2015-11-28T03:28:33

I love Betsy very much! What a classic nickname! I don't find Lizzie, Liz, or Ellie as attractive as Betsy

yvonne_virginia Says:

2015-10-06T17:47:28

I actually like this! It's a nice, classic name.

germanstar Says:

2015-10-06T17:11:53

I fully agree with you.

TaliaCat Says:

2015-01-26T22:58:54

Elizabeth is a beautiful name. Why would you shorten it to Betsy? Ugh

Guest Says:

2014-08-06T19:34:03

I have a friend named Elizabeth who I like to call Betsy sometimes. She says she doesn't like it, it sounds like the name of a cow to her.